SVITOLINA STORMS TO ISTANBUL TITLE

SVITOLINA STORMS TO ISTANBUL TITLE

Top seed Elina Svitolina made no mistake in the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup final with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Elise Mertens to capture her seventh title.

22-year-old Elina Svitolina lifted her third trophy of the year, seventh overall in Istanbul with another dominant performance in the final against Elise Mertens. Top seed needed 75 minutes for the 6-2, 6-4 victory to add a new TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup crown to her resume following 2014 and 2015 doubles triumphs.

Ukranian star, who knocked Victoria Kamenskaya, Alexandra Cadantu, Sorana Cirstea and Jana Cepelova on the road to the final, was off to a flying start as she reached to a 5-0 lead in 17 minutes. Coming to the final with a six match winning streak in her pocket, Mertens grabbed two games in a row but got broken in the eighth game as Svitolina completed the first set 6-2.

World no. 13 Svitolina carried the momentum into the second set for 4-1 lead. Appearing in her second final – her first was in Hobart in January – Mertens bite back for 4-4 but Svitolina still had a lot of gas in her tank. She held on serve before converting second match point on her opponent’s serve to seal the deal with 6-4.